VACATION PONZI SCHEME
Travel agent jailed for fraud
A former Kindersley travel agent wept as she was led away in handcuffs after a judge imposed a three-year prison term for running what a prosecutor described as a “destination vacation Ponzi scheme.”
Leslie Denise Glauser, 45, pleaded guilty in mid-December to a single count of fraud. Court heard Tuesday that single count encompassed 250 victims who collectively lost more than $1 million. She was also ordered to repay $200,000 as part of the joint sentencing submission.
“The money is gone; there’s not money stashed anywhere,” prosecutor Darren Howarth told court while outlining Glauser’s practice of withdrawing cash from the business, which “snowballed” as she scrambled to cover the cost of upcoming trips by encouraging others to buy at a discount.
“She knew what she was doing was wrong,” Howarth added.
Court heard about 200 of the victims who lost their money between February 2014 and December 2016 — the period covered by the charge — were reimbursed by credit card companies. The remaining 50 victims, who paid up to $30,000 for holidays, did not get their money back, Howarth said.
Glauser’s lawyer, Robert Robbenhaar, said she bought T&T Travel in 2001 and ran it for many years before problems began to emerge. He described it as a “legitimate business that went sideways,” and said Glauser ignored her father’s advice to close the firm when he gave her $114,000 to pay off debts.
Court also heard from four people Glauser defrauded. In their victim impact statements, they described experiencing stress and emotional trauma after their holidays fell apart. One, Gail Wiebe, said the shock was so great she and
The money is gone; there’s not money stashed anywhere . ... She knew what she was doing was wrong.
her husband started smoking again.
When provincial court Judge R.D. Jackson asked Glauser if she had anything to say, the former travel agent replied: “I just wanted to let you all know that it snowballed over time. I just wanted everybody to get everything that they paid for.”
RCMP launched an investigation into T&T Travel for “fraudulent transactions” on Jan. 22, 2016, according to a letter obtained by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Within two days, officers had received 150 complaints about the business, including one from the west-central Saskatchewan town’s acting mayor.
After police had received more than 250 complaints about the travel agent, many of which involved claims that Glauser took money but failed to book flights and hotel rooms, one all-encompassing fraud charge was filed against her last year.
Cheryl Bleile said in January 2016 her son Chris and his fiancee Kerri Fortin booked a destination wedding after winning a discounted travel package from T&T Travel. She said “at least” 32 guests paid a total of $40,000 to the company, but the travel agent made only a single $300 deposit.
Bleile read a victim impact statement on Tuesday. She described the “emotional upset” of losing money and having to reschedule the wedding on short notice.
Howarth said Glauser wants to get a job after finishing her sentence and begin repaying her victims. He said the $200,000 figure is “more attainable” than the $1 million total.